Aston Martin Chief Technical Officer Enrico Cardile has explained how he intends to take the team on a route far different from that of his previous Formula 1 employer, Ferrari.
The Italian quit Ferrari for the Silverstone-based squad earlier this year, completing an intriguing backroom line-up, where he works alongside famed design guru Adrian Newey.
Aston is intent on making its mark in F1 again, having impressed in 2023, which was followed by an underwhelming 2024, and currently achieving similar mediocrity in 2025.
2026 sees a fresh opportunity to succeed with the launch of F1’s brand new radical technical regulations, for which Newey has been given free rein to work on, ignoring its 2025 car.
Naturally, moving from a team of staunch tradition, such as Ferrari, to a relatively new outfit like Aston Martin would surely be an eye-opening change for Cardile.
However, in an interview on the team’s website, he reveals that it is a process of building, given that it has a more nascent status in F1.
“I think there is a difference in culture,” Cardile explained.
“The targets are the same: everyone is focused on winning, but the F1 team at Ferrari has a very long and stable history, with established processes and tools.
“Here, we’re still building up these things. We have the new CoreWeave Wind Tunnel, the new simulator, and we need to work to exploit the potential of these things.
“We also need to develop the processes within the company for the way we work, building a lean organisation that avoids waste.
“It’s one of the first messages I gave to my team when I started: we need to find our identity and use our vision to shape the organisation so that it works the way we want it to work.
“It’s fine to take inspiration from other places, but copying the way it has been done elsewhere is not the thing to do.”
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Cardile further explained how Aston Martin wishes to set itself apart from its rivals, as it continues to build on its already-impressive Silverstone technology campus.
“We need to build something that is based on our strengths and allows us to work on our weaknesses,” he added.
“We want to be the reference, not a clone of the existing reference.
“You can’t simply copy what someone else is doing, however successfully they’re doing it, because that means being a follower, rather than a leader, and that’s not the route to success.
“It’s a work in progress that is moving forward step by step.
“I have a clear vision and a clear plan, agreed with Andy Cowell, with Adrian Newey, with Lawrence [Stroll], for what we need to do to improve the organisation.”
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